Ros the Aviator!

Well she finally did it!
Last Christmas I bought Ros (my wife) a trial flying lesson. After one disappointment in May (near her birthday) because of the weather she re-arranged it for last Saturday.
We looked at the weather, phoned the night before, and were told to take a chance and come. When we got there cloud base was about 3,500ft with a few minor showers and we thought maybe the whole thing would be called off again. But the instructress said we would fly!
We went through all the preliminaries in the office and went out to the aircraft, a small, four-seat Piper. We did all the pre-flight checks and we were on our way.
Ros took to it like she had been flying all her life!
She got the hang of level flight in no time and was soon doing turns, ascent, descent as if she had been practising for years. Far better than I ever did on my first lesson.
Just like me when we finished she could not help the grin of sheer exhilaration and pleasure on her face.
Soon I hope to add some photos of the event but for now all I can say is that she can't wait to go up again!
Probably the best present I have ever given her.

Dilemma

The leader of the MDC in Zimbabwe, Morgan Tsvangirai, has said he may pull out of the Presidential elections because he fears for the lives of his supporters.
President Mugabe, once looked upon by the world as the steadying influence on African politics, has shown a lust for power which has turned him into a dictator. If the truth be known - which it never will - he probably lost the previous round in the presidential election. But he contested the result and, after a lot of wrangling and behind-the-scenes arm twisting of the judiciary, a second round of voting was called. Mr Mugabe has the military behind him, probably because they want to retain power.
So Mr Tsvangirai has a dilemma. Does he continue to contest the election and risk further killings of his supporters or does he withdraw? The trouble is that if he withdraws then Mugabe can continue with his corrupt regime and the killings will probably still continue. But can he ask his MDC supporters to continue risking their lives?
Even if Mugabe loses the election there is no guarantee that he will relinquish power. He still has the military behind him and would probably use force to keep the presidency. He has stated that God put him in power and only God can remove him.
I cannot advise Mr Tsvangirai. He and his party are between a rock and a hard place. Lives are at stake.
So is the future of a whole nation.

At last . . .

Hillary has finally thrown in the towel - long after it was obvious that she had lost the contest to become the Democratic Party's Presidential candidate. Was it that she could not see she had lost? Or was it that she wanted to keep in the limelight so that Mr Obama would have no choice but to choose her as his running mate and thus potential Vice-President. She would definitely not be a sleeping partner as many Vice-Presidents have been in the past. She would be outspoken and use more than the power she really had to steer the US government along her way of thinking.
It could be a winning ticket. A black president with a woman vice-president. But seeing the power-hungry attitude of Mrs Clinton it may be best if Barak keeps well away from her.
I wonder if Mrs Clinton would have chosen Mr Obama as her running mate if the tables had been reversed?
I think not. She would have seen him as too much of a threat from within.
Steer clear of the lady Mr Obama. If you get to be President I hope you govern with a sense of justice for all - both inside and outside of your own country. At least, unlike the present incumbent, you realise that there is a world outside the USA and have even lived in other parts of the world.
I have seen statements from "ordinary" voters in various states that they were Democrats but would prefer to vote Republican rather than have a black president.
I hope those bigots are in a small minority.
I suppose a similar scenario would have occurred about a potential female president.
Never mind the policies, we have to have the right gender and colour.
Nuff said.

Offspring Junior B.Sc.(Hons)

Well the provisional results have been published. Offspring Junior goes on line and is presented with an array of numbers which represent his results. With a few phone calls to his fellow students he is able to work out his result - possibly.
It seems he has gained at least a 2.1! And the result is so close to a first that he is hopeful that it may even be rounded up. Suggestions that he phone his tutors and finds out the situation in that regard have already been thought of by him.
Hopefully that will have a positive outcome but even if it is a 2.1 it is a real achievement.
He makes me proud to be his dad.
He has shown he can work hard and he can hold his head up and feel a real sense of achievement.
Well done, Offspring Junior B.Sc.(Hons)

Food or Fuel?

The UN summit in Rome on food production has pledged to halve the number of malnourished people in the world by 2015.
Delegates looked at various aspects including the production of bio-fuels.
Brazil claimed that because its bio-ethanol was produced from sugars it was not affecting the food chain. The US strongly defended its use of corn in the production of bio-fuels. Other countries undoubtedly defended their own stance on the use of bio-fuels, each claiming that it was in the interests of reducing global warming.
Many of the countries involved in the talks produce foods for export while their own citizens have to buy imported staple foods. Several African states produce tea and coffee for export but do not produce enough maize or rice to feed their own people.
Consumers in the developed countries - US, Europe, etc - import exotic, out-of-season foods to fuel the growing consumer demand for year-round supplies. Strawberries - once a totally seasonal fruit - come to the UK from as far afield as Spain, Turkey and even New Zealand just to fuel our growing consumerism. All of this adds to the carbon footprint of world-wide food production.
I have to admit that I am as guilty as the next man. I enjoy year-round oranges, tomatoes, peppers and other produce. All of these incur a price in carbon emissions and many of them mean that the farmers growing them have stopped growing the staple foods needed in their locality in favour of the export trade.
But I, along with the rest of the world, am going to have to change my ways. If we are to re-establish a sustainable world we will have to go back to eating the foods which are seasonally available.
For example: in the UK strawberries are a fruit which ripen in the summer. Oranges don't grow at all. When I was a lad bananas were a rarity and expensive - and because of this were much appreciated when they were available.
Food was much more home-grown.
Although this will make our diets less interesting it may also have some beneficial side-effects. Perhaps there will be less acutely obese people because food will be less abundant and therefore more carefully managed.
I'm rambling now, perhaps I should stop before I lose the whole meaning of this blog.
The meaning really is this. Eat to live - don't live to eat.

More oil to burn

They've announced that there is much more oil in the North Sea fields than was originally thought. New technology and higher prices have made it viable to more or less double what was originally thought to be the capacity of the oil fields. This could give us as much as thirty years more supply of the "black gold".
That's all right then.
We can all sit back in our cars in the knowledge that we can now pass on the problem of lack of oil to future generations.
But . . . does that mean we can continue to poison the atmosphere to the point where future generations' existence is put in jeopardy?
We still have to look to other ways of life which do not poison our planet.
If we continue with our present way of life it could lead to the extinction of many endangered species on this planet - perhaps including mankind.

A Breakdown of Politics

Listening to Radio 4 this morning I heard an interview with Jimmy Cliff - one of the guys who helped popularise reggae music in the 60s and 70s.
Asked if he had any political views he said that he looked at the word "politics" and broke it down into two parts: "poly" - meaning many, and "ticks" - blood-sucking insects.
Nuff said.

Achievement!

So - it's just a fence.

I'll give you that. But built to my own design. In spite of all the adverse weather, tree-roots and my own lack of ability!

It may not be perfect but it has come out the way I designed it and imagined it to look - although the mechanics of it changed regularly as I went through the job.

And I did it! Not some cowboy "landscape gardener" Not to anyone else's specifications.

And a neighbour even commented how good it looked.

I feel a sense of achievement - justifiably.

They're all here

So we went to hear Offspring Senior's final recital.
The Missus, Offspring Junior and me that is.
Senior did his best and we now await the results from the adjudicators.
Then we had to do the rounds of the local hostelries with various of Senior's friends wishing him fond farewells and getting him more and more drunk.
Finally the drive home - which was lengthened considerably by the fact that a section of the motorway was closed because of a major fatal accident.
So now we are four.
A family once again.
Offspring Senior has offered - under pressure - to help me finish the fence tomorrow.
Yeah, right!
Once again I wait with bated breath . . .

The Continuing Saga

Thursday has unexpectedly turned into a good day.
The sun was out and the temperature was quite reasonable. So, it was with a fresh spring in my step that I tackled the dreaded fence once again.
The post went in - no problem.
The main cross-spars were duly screwed in place. Yes screwed - with non-rust screws so that I could dismantle parts if necessary and replace when the wood goes rotten (now that's forward planning not normally associated with Mac!).
Time is now getting on but I consider all the options and then decided that it would be a good idea to screw the feather edge boards instead of using nails for the same reason as above. Off I go to purchase non-rust screws of the correct size.
Then . . .
Just as I got back the heavens opened.
Really.
Heavy rain, a few flashes of lightning and rolls of thunder.
I thought it would pass over - as many sudden thunderstorms do. But no, it just turned into incessant heavy rain.
Oh well, tomorrow we go to Birmingham to watch Offspring Senior's final recital and bring him home so I'll just have to finish the fence on Saturday.
I'll be bloody glad when it's finished. I'll probably post a photo of it in this blog and you will all wonder what all the fuss was about.

When you've gotta go . . .

An emergency mission has just taken off heading for the International Space Station. It is carrying vital spare parts upon which the whole fate of the Station relies.
Is it some new-fangled electronic space telescope?
A new computer?
Navigation system?
Solar panels?
Nothing so mundane.
No, they are making an emergency delivery of . . .
Spare parts for the toilet.
Apparently the loo has not been working quite as it should. It can still handle solid waste but the liquid stuff ain't being sucked in properly. A spokesman is quoted on the BBC News as saying the toilet has to be operated "manually" (the mind boggles!).
With seven visitors arriving shortly it is essential that they can have a piss without trying to catch it in plastic bags while it floats around them.
As the spokesman said - you can't be expected to hold on if you're on a six-month journey to Mars!
After all, when you gotta go, you gotta boldly go!

Superb Secrecy . . .

Since my post about HMS Superb yesterday I have received one comment from "Anonymous" which you can read in full if you click on "Comments" on the post. Essentially it states that their partner is on board and no-one was injured - thank goodness for that.
He or she could not confirm the Afghanistan link and stated that the MoD would not confirm this either. Having seen that the BBC has edited out any reference to Afghanistan in the story, I wonder if the MoD has had a hand in this.
True, secrecy is paramount in protecting our strategies and our personnel. But if this is the case, why release the story of the incident in the first place?
I wish the responder's partner and the whole crew of HMS Superb a safe return to British shores.
I also applaud their bravery in defending the cause of freedom and democracy across the world.
But I am now more than a little afraid.
I am now looking over my shoulder to see if a shady character from the MoD or MI6 will be knocking on my door accusing me of some kind of treason for bringing this to general attention.
I wait with bated breath . . .

More Frustration

The ongoing saga of the fence . . .
I decided that I would try a metal fence support. This consists of a long metal spike which you drive into the ground with a sledgehammer. On top of it is a cup to hold the base of the wooden post. I dutifully hurt my back swinging the sledgehammer at the spike to drive it into the ground and when it was about two-thirds into the ground it decided to bend!
Shit!
But . . . all is not lost. With a lot of effort I was able to extract the now-useless spike. Then I used the deformed spike itself as a post-hole digger - having loosened the earth and broken through several tree roots.
So - back to Plan A which involves digging a hole, inserting the post and pouring concrete around the base of it.
No problem.
Plain sailing from hereon in . . .
Trouble is, as usual on my holidays, it's pissing down with rain yet again so there's no way I can use concrete because it would all be washed away before it set.
But there's always tomorrow . . .

Submarines in Afghanistan . . .

Yes, it's true. It must be true because I saw it on the BBC, which is always totally accurate.
They ran a story about a submarine, HMS Superb, which hit a rock in the Red Sea. Apparently there was no serious damage and no environmental effect. The only problem now is how to get her home. She cannot dive because her sonar equipment was damaged in the collision.
The report on the BBC News website ended by stating that the boat had recently been deployed to Afghanistan.
No, really?
I always thought Afghanistan was a land-locked country on the Indian sub-continent. I have never seen references to the beautiful beaches of Afghanistan, nor even the rugged coastline, fiords, crested waves or towering cliffs.
Shouldn't someone tell the Royal Navy that visiting Afghanistan in a submarine would cause much more damage than hitting a rock in the Red Sea?
Or did I get it all wrong in my Geography lessons at school . . . ?
Just so that I can confirm that I wasn't imagining the story please go to http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/7422774.stm
so that I can confirm I'm not going mad and imagining this story.
NOTE: Two hours later I notice that they have changed the text to say that she was deployed to the Indian Ocean to support troops in Afghanistan. Just shows that somebody reads this blog. Or does it just mean that someone in the BBC realised how stupid the original story was . . .?
FURTHER NOTE: I have re-visited the BBC story today (May 28) and find that they have further edited it. All reference to Afghanistan has been removed and it is just stated that HMS Superb is in "international waters".
Hmm . . .

Cruisin' Down the River . . .

. . . well, strictly speaking it was a canal. Part of the old Somerset Coal Canal. 'Er Indoors had said she would like to me to hire a boat for her birthday present so, being an obedient hubby, I obliged and today we set off to Limpley Stoke to have our trip.
The boat was an electric powered day-boat. It was so quiet you had to listen hard to hear the motor running. In fact the bilge pump made more noise than the main propulsion motor.
It was idyllic sauntering along at the maximum-allowed speed of about 4 mph just watching the world go by around us. Ducks, geese, mayflies and many birds were spotted in grand abundance - including several broods of ducklings being shepherded by their mums!
We found a place to stop and banged a couple of stakes into the bank to moor the boat while we ate salads and fruits for lunch. We both had great fun trying to steer. At first neither of us could get used to the fact that when you turned the wheel it took a year-and-a-half before you could detect any reaction from the vessel. There were some quite narrow sections to get through but we managed it without bumping (more or less!)
All in all, a beautifully tranquil trip which we both agreed we would like to repeat.
It somewhat makes up for the postponement of my wife's flying lesson. But, as she said, it still leaves her something to look forward to!
Meanwhile - the idyll is about to be destroyed!
Tomorrow the wife goes to Cheltenham to bring Offspring Junior home from university. He's finished his course and is now just awaiting his results to see if he has gained his degree.
Then, on Friday, we all go to Birmingham to listen to Offspring Senior's final recital for his degree and then bring him home as well!
Oh shit!
The peace and quiet will no longer be peaceful nor quiet.
I think it will take both of us a little while to get used to being part of a larger family again.
Don't get me wrong - I'm very proud of both my kids. They've both worked hard and deserve to get their degrees.
But it is going to take some getting used to the idea of being four instead of two . . .

Frustration . . .

A day of complete frustration.
Yesterday was the day when 'er indoors was to take her trial flying lesson. It was pissing down with rain all morning.
It was hardly necessary to phone to find out it had been postponed. But when she did the earliest it could be re-arranged was in July!
Meanwhile I was supposed to be erecting a new fence. Trouble is that where the new post is supposed to be positioned there is a bloody great tree stump (with the accompanying underground roots). This makes it damned difficult, if not impossible to dig a hole for the new post. On top of that problem it was pissing down with rain (see earlier reference).
Both projects temporarily postponed . . .

Devastation

I have just been watching the BBC news covering the appalling earthquake in China. Tens of thousands are believed dead. Two stories were featured.

In the first a father was seen sitting on a lump of concrete which had once been a hotel. He explained that he had called his son on his mobile phone and heard weak breathing. He had begged rescue workers to search for him. The rescuers broke through the concrete and tried their best to find the son with no result.

The sad pictures of the father still clinging on to hope still sitting on the wreckage moved me to tears.

Then there were pictures of a man trapped - injured but still alive - under the remains of another building. A TV reporter had given him a mobile phone to talk to his wife. He told her he didn't think he had much chance of survival. By the time he was extracted from the rubble it was too late . . .

The hopeless look of frustration and sadness on an army officer's face relates much more than I can ever write.

Because of previous Chinese policies to reduce population many families only have one offspring. Thus whole generations have been wiped out by this tragedy.

How fragile life is. . .

Watch these stories for yourself. Visit http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/7407510.stm

and mourn along with me for those who have died - and those who survived.

Mac plays live!

Well, it hasn't really happened for more than ten years. Mac playing music live - in front of a real listening audience.
Pete, my old mate from thirty-odd years ago, e-mailed me to tell me of a musicians' evening at one of his local pubs in the Forest of Dean. I didn't think much more about it but mentioned in passing to long-suffering " 'er indoors" that I wouldn't mind going along. She suggested we pay a visit to the forest in the afternoon and then go on to the gig to have a listen. So it was agreed - we'd go and have a listen.
Then, on Friday night, the inevitable happened. It happens every time we get a warm spell. Two doors down decide they're going to have a barbecue in their garden. First you get the smell of firelighters. Then the smoke as the charcoal starts to burn. Finally you get the smell of cremated meat ("we must make sure it's really cooked or else we might get salmonella").
I was so moved by this that I sat down and wrote a sarcastic grump-song about it entitled Another Darned Barbie.
Comes today and we make sandwiches, pack my guitar and head for the Forest. The area has changed considerably from how I knew it some 30-odd years ago but we finally found a quiet place to park and had a delightful walk listening to the birdsong and watching the wildlife.
Back to the car and sandwiches - then on to the venue. It's a pub. There's a few locals and some others who have come to listen. The guy running it - goes by the name of Bob - got up and, assisted by a guy called Lefty and the guy who plays drums with the Wurzels and my mate Pete on bass, got the whole thing underway with a few of his own numbers.
Then he called for others to come and do their thing. There wasn't much response so I plucked up the courage and got Pete on bass, Lefty on guitar and the drummer to join me in Another Darned Barbie. As I hadn't had time to properly learn the words my poor wife got deafened acting as music stand so that I could read them.
The song went down well - especially the line which went: "Why is everybody into animal cremation?"
Another young band got up - these kids were something else. Each of them had more talent in their little fingers than I have in the whole of my body. The girl had an amazing voice - and could really play a guitar - and the drums! Not only that she was good looking. I wish I'd asked their names because I would have been proud to list them in this blog. They didn't have a bass player so I picked up Pete's bass and joined them. They seemed grateful for a bit of bottom end.
I continued on bass for most of the rest of the evening - playing for the resident musicians and several of the stand-up musicians as well. Pete said afterwards he was grateful because usually on these gigs he is the only bass player and thus has to play all night.
Meanwhile my poor long-suffering wife had to sit it out. She said afterwards that she enjoyed listening but it was "a bit loud"!
One of the best days off I have had in a long time . . .

Humphrey Lyttelton - the End of an Era

It was with great sadness that I heard the news of the death of Humphrey Lyttelton.
Perhaps best known for his music - a great jazz trumpeter - I remember him best for his wit and pure presence on the Radio 4 programme I'm Sorry I Haven't A Clue which he chaired for more than 35 years.
Barry Cryer, a colleague on the show, gave the ultimate acclaim when he remarked about Humph's amazing comic timing: "He was the only person who could get a laugh from radio silence."
He, along with his colleagues on the show, gave my family and me many happy hours of side-splitting laughter.
Humph will be sadly missed across a wide spectrum of people.
Goodnight, Humph.

Vista plus Norton equals CHAOS

I have just purchased a new computer. It came with Windows Vista Home Premium (all hail to the god William Gates) and Norton. The computer says it will run at 4 gHz. OK, great.
BUT . . .
Mr Gates over-wordy software plus Norton's interfering checking, and the stupid laptop-style keyboard on this computer all combine to make this the most user-unfriendly system I have ever used (or abused).
Sod Mr Norton and Mr Gates! I have achieved greater speeds from an Amstrad 512 Word Processor!
Come the revolution Mr Gates will be the first to be put up against the wall.
And I claim the right - after 30 years of suffering his software - to be the first to pull the trigger!

Who will be President?

Who's going to be the next President of the United States? McCain seems to have secured the Republican nomination - or has he?
Clinton and Barak are neck and neck in the Democrat camp - both wanting to be first. First woman President. First black President.
Who - outside of America - gives a shit?
Whoever gets in it'll be the same old USA thinking it owns the planet.
Look over your shoulder Mr or Madam President - Asia will soon be taking away your mantle of the world's greatest economy. And be sure they won't give a shit about a failed Western economy like yours!

Nothing to say

It strikes me that I have not made an entry for more than a month.
It also strikes me that nobody has noticed this - not even me!
It could be that nobody reads my blog!
I don't believe it . . .